X-ray images of corseted women, 1908

Oddly beautiful, but still wince-making, take a gander at these x-rays showcasing the nasty health consequences corsets caused for women’s bodies. These images are from Doctor O’Followell’s Le Corset (The Corset) written in 1908.

There’s some debate as to whether or not these are actual x-rays of corsets or if they’re just x-rays of women’s torsos with the corset painted on afterwards. Others firmly believe that these are indeed very real x-rays.


Compression and liver deformation by the corset, 1908


Fig. 25. – Thorax woman without corset / Fig. 26. – Thorax woman with corset, 1908